Council snubs extended trading hours bid

The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder has rejected a proposal to extend weekday retail trading hours by an extra hour in Kalgoorlie.

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry was proposing to allow retailers in the city to open until 7:00pm (AWST) for a 12-month trial period.

Most councillors voted against the idea at this month's meeting, citing a lack of community support and the fact that many smaller retailers opposed the proposal.

However, the city's Deputy Mayor, Allan Pendal, says he is not ruling out the possibility that the city would consider the idea in the future.

"Look, it's very difficult to know what's going to happen in the future and consumer spending is changing almost daily and we acknowledge that and it may well be that this is introduced at some time in the future," he said.

He says the proposal was rejected because it lacked community support.

"The bottom line is that there are quite a number of small retailers and many consumers that didn't see a need for extended trading and the imposition that it sometimes places on employees and the families of employees," he said.

Chamber CEO Hugh Gallagher says the city is bursting at the seams and needs extended trading hours.

He says the chamber will continue to propose the idea to the council in the future.

"The good thing is we live in a democracy, there's another day," he said.

"Is the chamber hell-bent on bringing in an additional four hours and seven days trade? No, it's not.

"Simply what it does is reflect the views of employers and that's just what it's done.

"This city at the moment is bursting at the seams, it's absolutely full.

"It's full of people from many different parts of Australia and other parts of the world as well where they already have total deregulation of trading hours.

"So we thought we'd ask the employers what their view was and the majority of the region's major employers said it's time."

You have no doubt been hearing a lot about the Paris Agreement and know that it pertains to climate change, but are too embarrassed at this stage to ask for an overall explanation of what it's all about.